E 

.Bfc 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



ANDREW JOHNSON, 

OF TENNESSEE, 



T.KiETIIER WITH HIS 



SPEECH AT NASHVILLE, JUNE 10, 1864, 



LETTER ACCEPTING THE NOMmATION 



VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



TEXPEKED HIM BY THE 



NATIOiNTAL UNION CONVENTION, 



BALTIMORE, OX THE 7ih AND Sth OF JUNE, 18M.. 



WASHINGTON: 

PCTBLISHED BY THE UNION CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. ''-^ 



■, ANDREW JOHNSON, ' 

THE UNIOx\ NOMINEE FOR THE VICE PRESIDENCY, 

. ^vas bornia Raleigh, North Carolina, December 29, 1808. When he 
was four years of age he lost his father, who died from the effects of 
.exerbons to save a friend frbm drowning. At the age of ten he was ar^ 
prent.e to a tailor in Lis native city, with whom he%e..ved seveaTeat' 
His mother was unable to afford him any,,educational advantages, and he 
.ever attended school a d.y in his life.^^While learning his Ll, Low! 
ever, he resolved to make an effort to educate himself. His anxiet; to be 
able to read was particularly excited by an incident which is worthy of 
mention A gentleman of Raleigh was in the habit of going into tne 
tadors shop and reading while the apprentice and journeyman were at 
work. He was an excellent reader, and his favorite book was a volume 
of seeches, prmcipally of British statesmen. Johnso^v became interested 
and h,s first ambition was to equal him as a reader, and become familiar' 
with those speeches. He took up the alphabet without an instructor but 
by applymg to .he journeymen with whom he worked he obtained a little 
assistance.^ Having acquired a knowledge. of the letters, he applied for 
the loan of the book which he had so often heard read. The owner made 
h.m a. present of it, atid gave him some instruction on the use of letters in 
■the form^ntum of words. Tims his finst exercises in spelling were in that 
book. By perseverance he soon learned to read, and the Lours which he 
devoted to his education were at night after he was through his daily 
labor upon the .hop-board. He now applied himself to books from two 
to three hom-s every night, after working from ten to twelve Lours at his 
trade. Having completed his apprenticeship in the autumn of 1824 he 
■went to Laurens Court House, S. C, where he worked as a journ.vm.n 
for nearly two years. While there he became engaged to be married but 
the match was broken off by the violent opposition of the girl's m.-ther 
and friends, the ground of objection being Mr^JoHNsoN's youth and want 
of pecuniary means. In May, 1826, he returned to RaleigL, where he 
procured journey work, and remained oniil September^^^He then s.-t out 
to seek his fortune in the West, carrying with him his mother, who w.s 
dependent upon him for support. He stopped at Greenville, Tennessee, 
and commenced work as a joarneyraan. He remained there about twelve 
iBonths, married, and soon afterward went still further weatward • but 



tKBumamammmm 



failing to find a suitable place to settle he returned to Greenville and com- 
menced business. Up to this time bis education was limited in reading, 
as be bad never bad an opportunity of learning to write or cypher ; but 
under the instructions of bis wife be learned these and other branches. 
The only time, bovv-ever, be could devote to them was iri the dead of night. 
Tiie first office which he ever held was that of Alderman of the village, to. 
which be was elected in 1828. He was re-elected to the same position, 
in 1829, and again in 1830. In that yeaj- he was chosen Mayor, which 
po,^ition be held for three years. In 1835, be was elected to -the legisla- 
ture. In the session of that year be took decided ground against a scheme 
of internal, improvements, which he contended would not only prove a 
failure, but entad upon the State a burdensome debt. The measure was 
popular, however, aud at the next election (1837) he was defeated. He 
became a candidate again in 1839. By this time many of the evils be > 
had predicted from the internal improvement policy which he bad opposed 
four years previous were fully demonstiated, and be was elected by a large 
majority. In 1840 be served as presidential elector for the State at large 
on the democratic ticket. He canvassed a large portion of the State, 
meeting upon the sturn^ several of the leading Whig orators. In 1841 
he was elected to the State senate. In 1843 he was elected to Congress, 
where, by successive elections, be served until 1853. During this peiiod 
of service be was conspicuous and active in. advocating, respectively, the 
bill for refunding the fine imposed upon General. Jackson at New Orleans 
in 1815, the annexation of Texa*, the tariff of 1840, the war measures of 
Mr. Polk's administration, and a Homestead bill, a measure which origi- 
nated with him, upon which be has been justly termed the father of the h-- 
Homestead law. In 1853 be was elected Governor of Tennessee, after an 
exciting canvass, in wljich be was opposed by Gustavus A. Henry. He 
was re-elected in 1855, after another active contest, the competitor being • 
Meredith P. Gentry. At the expiration of bis second period as governor, 
in 1857 be was elected as tJnited States Senator for a fnll term, ending 
March 3, 18G3. It was after the presidential election of 1860 that, in the 
Senate, be proved himself worthy of his true democratic teachings and of 
his early struggles with adversity, by taking ground against treason, and 
by braining the southern aristocrats with an audacity and an eloquence 
that carried consternation to their hearts, aud filled the Union men with 

Ahbough Andrew Johnson supported Breckenridge for President in 
1860, he did so in the honest belief that he was speaking the wishes of 
bis constituents. It was this fact that rendered his antagonism to the 
rebellion and to the traitors during the period be remained in the Senate, 
as well as subsequently when he was called by the President to take the 
military governorship of Tennessee, when that State bad been swept by 
false appeals and fabricated votes out of the Union, so effective, and gave 



such great weight to his objections to those with whom he had hceii for- 
™erly connected. 

It was on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 19th and 20th of December, 
1860, when Governor Johnson saw that the traitors had determined' to 
secede from the Union, that he broke ground against them in a speech of 
such power and snch force that it was with great difficulty the galleries 
could be restrained in giving utterance to their feelings and gratitude. In 
order to show its ffiect, we annex the following letter of John W. Forney, 
Esq., written at the time : 

"The eloud that has been hangino; over the capitol and the country has lifted. 
The Union has foun'i a gallant defender in the American Congress in the person of 
the living Andrew Jackson of the South-^namely Andrew Johnnson, Senator iVom 
Tennessee. 

" He concluded his two day's speech at half past four o'clock this afternoon. His 
manner and his language carried consternation to the hearts of the fire-eaters. 
They listened to his strong sentences with amazement. He recognized the existing 
Union as the greatest blessing conferred by ftod upon man, after the Christian 
religion. ' He argued that to increase the number of States under the present Con- 
stitution was to enlarge the benefits to humanity here and all over the world, while 
a diminution of them was to cause disaster and death. 

" Tn the course of his remai-ks he reproduced the history of the purchase of Loa- 
seiana, Florida, and the annexation of Texas. In alluding to Florida he turned to 
Mj". Yutee, the Senator from that State, and reminded him that the time was when 
he had come to Congress imploi-ing for the admission of his State into the American 
Union. He asked him, in the event of the secession of Florida, could that Statue fet 
up a claim to sovereignty when the very soil of the State belonged to, and was paid 
for bj', the Union, whose sovereignty she has recognized on her admission? If so, 
she coul 1 destroy the parent who gave her birth and vitality. 

" Mr. Johnson irtroduced, with overwhelnning effect, the Ostend manifesto, which 
originated in the South, and was based upon the idea that when an adjoining State 
became troublesome to its neighbor, and daisgerous to our eafety, the doetfines of 
aatural self-preservation demanded the subjugation of that State, even by the force 
of armi». 

" If South Carolina, a small member of the Confedei-acy, went out of the Union 
for the purpose of destroying it, plunging millions of human beings into distress, 
■and annihilating the hopes of 'the friends of freedom throughout the world, she must 
and could be subjectedl according to the terms of the Osteod manifesto, in order to 
save the Republic. 

" His whole speech was crowded with points and facts, and when the Senate 
adjourned the hearts of the Union men beat proudly. The tide has been turned. 
The word has been spoken from the home of Jackson. Our threatened liberties 
have at last found a southern defender. The reign of terror, inaugurated by dis- 
appointed presidential aspirants, is fast passing away." 

In concluding his s[>eech Mr, Johnson said : 

'•I have done it in view of a duty that I felt I owed to my constituents ; to my 
children ; to myself. Without regard to consequences, I have taken my position ; ■ 
and when the tug comes, when Greek shall meet Greek, and our rights are refused 
after all honorable means have been exhausted, then it is that I will perish in the 
kst breaah; yes, in the language of the patriot Emmet, 'I will dispute every inch 



6 

of ground ; I will burn every blade of grass ; and the last entrencbman t of freedom 
fthall be rby grave.' Then let us stand by the Constitution, and in preserving the 
Constitution we shall save the Union ; and in saving the Union we save this, the 
greatest Government on earth." 

It was not to be expected that his first great speech sgainst the slave- 
holding traitors should not occasion consternation. If it had come from 
a northern man, even from a northern Democrat, one v/ho had voted for 
Douglass or for Breckinridge, they would have disregarded it ; but when 
spoken by Andrew Johnson, a southern Senator, who had voted for and 
sustained John C. Breckinridge in the immediately preceding presidential 
Section, they saw what the effect upon the southern mind must be, 
and they became infuriated, and by one after the other in speeches of 
great ability and accrimony, the heroic Johnson was opposed in argument^ 
ridiculed and attacked. This warfare lasted throughout the best part of 
January, 1861 ; and on the 5th and 6th'of February, 1861^ Mr. Johnson 
rose and made an elaborate and powerful reply, principally addressing, 
himself to the arch traitor Jefferson Davis, and his satelite, Judah P.. Ben- 
jamin. 

During his administration as Military Governor of Tennessee, he has 
proved himself the most reliable and earnest supporter of the Administra- 
tion and the cause of the Union, and also took a decided stand in favor of 
emancipation in Tennessee. 

Grand and heioic.was the action of Johnsqn when General Bueil was 
forced to retreat before the hordes of Bragg and Kirby Smith, and was- 
willing to surrender the city of Nashville i;i the bands of- the enemy, 
Johnson declared that he would sooner be buried under the luins of the 
ciiy than to surrender. His energetic and deterfftined protest had a magic 
effect. Buell left a small force for the defence of Nashville, whils-t Buoli 
was driven to the Ohio, ' Nashville was preserved,. / 



/. 



,/ 
SPEECH 



ANDREW JOHNSON, 

AT 

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, 

FKIDAY, JUNE 10, 1864. 



Governor Andrew Johnson, after thanking the assembly for the com- 
pliment they had bestowed on him, and a few other preliminary remarks, 
proceeded to say, that we are engaged in a great struggle for free govern- 
ment in the proper acceptation of the term. 

So far as the head of the ticket is concerned, the Baltimore Conventioa 
had said, not only to the United States, but to all the nations of the 
earth, that we are determined to maintain and carry out the principles of 
free goVernnient. [Applause.] That Convention announced and con- 
firmed a principle not to be disregarded. It was that the right of seces- 
sion and the power of a State to place itself out of the Union, are not 
recognized. The Convention had declared this principle by its action. 
Tennessee had been in rebellion against the Government, and waged a 
treasonable war against its authority, just as other Southern States had 
done. She had seceded just as much as other States had, and left the 
Union as far as she had the power to do so. Nevertheless, the National 
Convention had declared, that a State cannot put itself from under the 
national authority. It said, by its first nomination, that the present Pres- 
ident, take him altogether, was the man to steer the ship of State for the 
next four years. [Loud applause.] 

Next it said— if I may be permitted to speak of myself, not in the way 
of vanity, but to illustrate a principle^"We will go into one of the re- 
bellious States and choose a candidate for the Vice-Presidency." Thus 
the Union party declared its belief that the rebellions States are still in 
the Union and that their loyal citizens are still citizens of the United 
States. And now there is but one great work for us to do, that is to put 
down the rebellion. Our duty is to sustain the GovernmcAit, and help it 
with all our might to crush out a rebellion which is in violation of alUhat 
is right and sacred. . 



8 

MR. JOHNSON ON HIS OWN POSITION. 

Governor Johkson said he had no impassioned appeal to make to the 
people in his own behalf. He had not sought the position assigned him 
by the National Convention. Not a man in the land can truthfully say 
that I have asked him to use his influence in my behalf in that body, for 
the position allotted to me, or for any other. On the contrary, I have 
avoided the candidacy. But vrhile I hav.e not sought it, still, being con- 
ferred upon me unsought, I appreciate it the more highly. Being con- 
ferred on me without solicitation, I shall not decline it. fApplause.] 
Come weal or woe, success or defeat, sink or swim, survive or perish, I 
accept the nomination, on principle, be the consequences what they may. 
I will do what I believe to be my duty. I know there are those here who 
profess to feel a contempt for me, and I, on the other hand, feel my supe- 
riority to them, 

HIS OPINION OF ARISTOCRACY. 

I have always understood that there is a sort of exclusive aristocracy 
about Nashville which affects t6 condemn all who. are not within its little 
circle. Let them enjoy their opinions; I have heard it said that 

•'■Worth makes the man and want the fellow." 

This aristocracy has been the bane of the slave States ; nor has the 
North been wholly free from its curse. It is a class which I have always 
forced to respect me, for I have ever set it at defiance. The r6spect of 
the honest, intelligent, and industrious class I have endeavored to win by 
my conduct as a man. One of the chief elements of this rebellion is the 
opposition of the slave aristocracy to being ruled by men who have risen 
from the ranks of the people. 

This aristocracy hated Mr. Lincoln because he was of humble origin, 
a rail-splitter in early life. One of them, the private secretary of Howell 
Cobb, said to me one day, after a long conversation, " We people of the 
South will not submit to be governed by a man who ha« come up from 
the ranks of the common people, as Abe Lincoln has." He uttered the 
essential feeling and spirit of the Southern Rebellion. Now, it has just 
occurred to me, if this aristocracy is so violently opposed to being gov- . 
erned by Mr. Lincoln, what, in the name of conscience, will it do with 
Lincoln and Johnson ? [Great laughter.] 

I reject with scorn this whole idea of an arrogant aristocracy. I be- 
lieve that man is capable of self-government, irrespective of his outward 
circumstances ; and whether he be a laborer, or shoemaker, a tailor, a 
grocer. The question whether man is capable of self-government, I hold 
with Jeffersoft that government was made for the convenience of man, 
and not man for the government. The laws and constitutions were de- 
signed as mere instruments to promote his welfare. And hence, from this 



9 

principle, I conclude that governments can and ouglit to be chanocd and 
amended to conform to the wants, the requirements, and progress ot the 
people, and the enlightened spirit of the age. [Loud applause.] 

Now, if any of you secessionists have lost faith in man's capabiliry of 
self-government, and feel unfit for the exercise of th's great right, go 
straight to reheldom, take Jeff Davis, Beauregard, and Bicigg for your 
masters,"and put their collars on your necks. 

SLAVERY DEAD. 

And here let me say that now is the time to recur to these fun'huuental 
principles, while the land is rent with anarchy, and upheaves wit'a the 
throes of a mighty revolution. While society is in this disordered state, 
and we are seeking security, let us fix the foundations of the Government 
on principles of eternal justice which will endure for all time. There is 
an element in our m'dst who are for perpetuating the institutii)n of slavery. 
Let me say to you, Tennesseeans and men from the Xoithern States, that 
Slavery is dead. It was not murdered by me. I told you long ago what 
the result would be if you endeavored to go out of the Union to save 
slavery, and that the result would be bloodshed, rapine, devastated fields, 
plundered vilkgps and cities, and therefore I urged you to remain in the 
Union. In trying to save slavery you killed it, and lost your own free- 
dom. Your slavery is dead, but I did not murder it. As Macbeth said 
to Banq-uo's bloody ghost : 

" Never shake thy gorv locks at me. 
Thou can'st not say I did it." 

Slavery is dead, and you must pardon me if I do not mourn over its 
dead body; you can bury it out of sight. In restoringj^the State leave out 
that disturbing and dangerous element, and use only those parts of the ma- 
chinery which will move in harmony. 

WHY HE BELIEVES IN EMANCIPATION. 

Now, in regard to emancipation, I want to say to the blacks that liberty 
means liberty to work and enjoy the fruits of your labo'\ Idleness is not free- 
dom. I desire that all men shall have a fair start and an equal chance in the 
race of life, and let him succeed who has the most merit. Tiiis, I think, is 
a principle of heaven. I am for emancipntion for two reasons : first, be- 
cause it is right in itself; and second, because in the emancipation of the 
slaves we break down an odious and dangerous aristocracy. I think we 
are freeing more whites than blacks in Tennessee. I want to see slavery 
broken up, and when its barriers are thrown down, I want to see indus- 
trious, thrifty em'grants pouring in from all parls of the country. Come 
on ! we need your labor, your skill, your capital. We want your enter- 
prise and invention, so that hereafter Tenuesse may rank with New Eng- 



10 

land in the arts and mechanics, and that when we visit the Patent Office at 
Washington, where the ingenious mechanics of the free States have placed 
their models, we need not blush that Tennessee can show nothing but a 
mouse-trap, or something of about as much importance. Come on ! We 
greet yon with a hearty welcome to the soil of Tennessee. Here is soil 
the most fert'le in every agricultural product ; a delightful and healthy 
climate, forests, water-power, and mines of inexhaustible richness ; come 
and help us redeem Tennessee, and make her a powerful and flouishing 
State. 

THE QUESTION OF RECONSTIJCTION. 

But in calling a convention to restore the State, who shall restore and re- 
establish it ? Shall the man who gave his influence and his means to ^lestroy 
the Government? Is he to participate in tne great work of reorganization ? 
Shall he who- brought this misery up->n the State be permitted to control 
its destinies? If this be so, then all this precious flood of our brave sol- 
diers and officers,- so freely poured out, will have been wantonly spilled. 
All the glorious victories won by our noble armies will go for nauuht, and 
all the battle-fields which have been sown with dead heioes during this re- 
bellion will have been made memorable in vain. Why all this carnage and 
devastation ? It w;ts that treason might be put down and traitors punished. 
Therefore I say that traitors should take a back seat in the work of restor- 
ation. If there be but five thousand men in Tennessee loyal to the Con- 
stitution, loyal to freedom, loyal to jus' ice, these true and faithful men 
should control the work of reorganization and reformation absolutely. 
(Loud and prolonged applause.) I say that the traitor has ceased- to be a 
citizen, and, in joining the rebellion, has become a public enemy. He for- 
feited his right to vote with loyal men when he renounced his citizenship 
and sought to destroy our Government. 

We s.iy to the most honest and industrious foreigner who comes from 
England and Gerniany to dwell among us, and to add to the wealth of the 
country, "Before you can be a citizen you must stay here for five years." 
If we are so cautious about foreigners who voluntarily renounce their 
homes to live with us, what should we say to the traitor who, although 
born and reared among us, has raised a parricidal hand against the Govern- 
ment which always: protected him ? My judgment is, that he should 
be subjected to a severe ordeal before he is restored to citizenship. 
A fellow who takes the oath mere-y to sav^ his property and denies the 
validity of the oath, is a perjurged man and not to be trusted. Before 
these repenting rebels can be trusted let them bring forth the fruits of 
repentance. He who helped to make all these widows and orphans who 
drape the streets of Nashville in mourning, should suffer for his great crime. 



11 

THE REBEL LEADERS. 

G^JT'l ''•'" '"' 7" ^''"^'- ^' '■''' ^^^«*^«y this rebellion. With 
Grant thundenng on the Potomac before Richn.ond, and She.man and 
Thomas on thcr march toward Atlanta, the day will ere long be ours. 
W,I1 any . madly persst in rebellion ? Suppose that an equal number be 
slam ^n every ba.tle, it is plain that the .esult must he the u.t.r ex.irmina- 
.on o the rebels. Ah, these r.bel leaders have a strong personal reason 
forhodm,rout-to save their necks from the haher ; and these leaders 
m«st feel the power of the Government. Treason must be ma^le odious 
and traitors must be punished .nd impoverished. Their great plantations 
must be seized and divided into small farms and sold to honest and in- 
dustnous men. 

ABUSES. 

The day for protecting the lands and negroes of these authors of rebel- 
lion IS past. It is high time it was. I have been most deeply pained at 
some things which have come under my 'observation. We get men in 
command, who, under the influence of flattery, fawning, and caressing, 
grant pn.tec.ion to the rich traitor, while the poor Union man stands out 
Jn the cold, often unable to get a receipt or a' voucher for his losses. 
(Cries of" That's so » from all parts of the crowd.) The traitor can get 
lucrative contracts while the loyal man is pushed aside, unable t^ obt.in 
a recognition of his just claims. I am telling the truth. I care nothing 
for stripes and shoulder-straps. I want them all to hear what I say. I 
have been on a gridiron for two years at the sight of these abuses. I blame 
not the Government for these wrongs, which are the work of weak and 
worthless subordinates. Wrongs will be committed under every form of 
flrovernment and every administration. For myself I mean to stand by the 
Government till the flag of the Union shall wave over every city, town, 
hill top and cro^s road in its full power and majesty. 

THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 

The nations of Europe are anxious for our overthrow. France takes ad- 
vantage of our mternal difficulties and sends Maximilian off" to Mexico to 
set up a monarchy on our borders. The day of reckoning is approaching.' 
The time is not faj- distant when the rebellion will be put down, and then 
we will attend to this Mexican aff'air, and say to Louis Napoleon, " You 
can set up no monarchy on this continent. (Great applause.) An expe- 
dition into Mexico would be a sort of recreation to the brave soldiers who 
are now fighting the battles of the Union, and the French concern would 
be quickly wiped out. Let us be united. I know there are but too parties 
now, one for the country and the other against it, and I am for my country. 

I am a Democrat in the strictest meaning of the terra. I am for this 
Government because it is democratic — a Government of the people. I am 



12 

for putting down this rebellion, because it is ^ar against democracy. He 
who stands off stirring up discontent in this State, and higgling about 
negroes, is practically in the rebel camp, aud encouiages treason. He 
who, iu Indian i or Ohio, makes war upon the Government out of regard 
to slavery, is just as bad. The salvation of the country is now the only 
business which concerns the patriot. 

In conclusion, let us give our thank*=, not forma', but heartfelt thnnks^U) 
these gallant officers aud soldiers who have come to our ■ rescue, and de- 
livered us from the rebellion. And though money be oxpeu'led, though 
lif© be lost, though farms and cities be desolated, let the war for the Unioc 
go on, and the stars and stripes be bathed, if need be, in a nation's blood, 
till law be res'ored and freedom finally established. 

Governor .Johnson retired amid loud and continued cheering, and the 
large croud dispersed to their homes. 



LETTER FROM ANDREW JOHNSON. 



ACCEPTANCE OF THE NOMINATION FOR VICE PRESIDENT. 



The following is the correspondence between the committee appointed 
by the Baltimore Convention and Governor Johnson, the nominee of that 
body for Vice President : 

LETTER TO GOVERNOR JOHNSON. 

Baltimore, Md., June 9, 1864 
Hon. Andrew Johnson : 

Dear Sir: The undersigned have great pleasure in performing the 
duty assigned to them of informing you of your nnanimous nomination 
for the office of Vice President ot the United Stntes, by the. National 
Union Convention, which closed its sittings in this city yesterday. 

We enclose a copy of the resolutions, or platform of principles, unani- 
mously adopted by the Convention, to which your attention is respectfully 
invited, and which we trust, will have your approval. . 

The committee need hardly add the assurance of their heaity concur- 
rence in selecting you as the candidate of the great majority of the loyal 
people of the country for the Vice Presidency of the United States, nor 
of their conviction that in so nominating you the Convention but faith- 
fully interpreted the wishes of their patriotic constituents. 

Earnestly requesting your acceptance of the position to which you have 
been assigned, and congratulating you upon the encoui aging prospects 
for the speedy suppression of the rebellion, and the extinguishment of its 
cause, we have the honor of subscribing ourselves your obedient ser- 
vants, 

W. DENNISON, of Ohio, 

Chairman. 

Joseph Drummond, of Maine; Thos. E. Sawyer, of New Hampshire; 

•Bradly Barlow, of Vermont; A. II. Bullock, of Massachusetts: A. M. 
Gammell, of Rhode Island; C. S. Bushnell, of Connecticut; George W. 
Curtis, of New York ; W. A. Newell, of New Jersey ; Henry Johnson, of 
Pennsylvania ; N. B. Smitbcrs, of Delaware ; W. L. W. Seabrook, of Ma- 
ryland ; John F. Hume, of Missouri ; G. W. Elite, of Kentucky ; E. P. 
FyfFe, o(Obio; Cyrus M. Allen, of Indiana; W. Bushnell, of Illinois; L. 
P. Alexander, of Michigan; A. W. Randall, of Wisconsin ; A. Oliver,, of 
Iowa; John Bidwell, of CaHfomia ; Thos. H, Pearne, of Oregon ; A. C. 
Wilder, of Kansas ; Leroy Cramer, of Western Virginia ; M. M. Brien, of 

■^Tennessee ; A. A. Atocha, of Louisiana ; Valentine Dehl, of Arkansas ; J. 
P. Eremcs, of Nevada Territory ; A. S. Paddock, of Nebraska Territory ; 
John A. Nye, of Colorado ; A. B. Slouaker, of Utah. 



14 

REPLY OF GOVERNOR JOHNSON. 

' Nashville, Tenn.-, July 2j 1864. 

Mon. XVm. Dennisoti, Chairman^ and others, Committee of' the NatiorMl 
■ Union Convention : 

Gentlemen : Your communication of the 9th ult., informing me of m.y 
nomination for the Vice Presidency of the. United States by the National 
Union Convention held at Ballimoie, and enclosing a copy of the resolu- 
tions adopted by that body, was not received until the 25th ult. 

A reply on my pari had been previously made to the action of the Con^ 
vention in presenting my name, in a speech delivered in this city on the 
evening succeeding the day of the adjournment of the Convention^ in 
which I indicated my acceptance of the distinguished honor conferred by 
that body, and defined the grounds upon which that acceptance was based, 
substantially statjng what 1 now have to say. From the comments made 
upon that speech by the various presses of the country to which my atten- 
tion has been directed, I considered it to be regarded as a full accept- 
ance. 

In view, however, of the desire expressed in your communication, I will 
more fully allude to a few points that have been heretolore presented. 

My opiui(;ns on the leading questions at present agitating and distract- 
ing the public mind, and especially in reference to the rebellion now being 
waged against the Government and authority of the United States, I pre- 
sume are generally understood. Before the (southern people assumed a 
belligerent attitude (and repeatedly since) I took occasion most frankly t© 
declare the views I then entertained in relation to the wicked purposes of 
the southern politicians. They have since undergone but little, if any, 
change. Time and subsequent events have rather confirmed than dimin- 
ished my confidence in their correctn ss. 

At the beginning of this great struggle I entertained the same opinion 
of it I do now; and, in my place in the Senate, denounced it as treason, 
worthy the punishiiieut of death, and warned the Government and peo- 
ple of the impending danger. ^ But my voice was not heard or counsel 
heeded, until it was too late to avert the storm, it still continued te 
gather over us without molestation from the authorities at Washington, 
until at length it bioke with all its fury upon the country. And now, if 
we would save the Government from being overwhelmed by it, we must 
meet it in the true gpirit of patriotism, and bring traitors to the punish- 
ment due their crime, and, by foice of arms, crush oijt and subdue the 
last vestige of rebel authority i.i every State. I felt then, as now, that 
the destruction of the Government was delibeiately determined upon by 
wicked and designing conspirators, whose lives and fortunes were pledged 
to carry it out; and that no compromise short of an unconditional recog- 
nition of the independence ot the Southern States could heretofore have 
been, or could now be proposed, which they would accept. The clamor 
for " Southern rights," as the rebel journals were pleased to designate their 
rallying cry, was not to secure their assumed rights in the Union, and 
under the Constitution, but to disrupt the Government and establish an 
independent organization, .based upou slavery, which they could at all 
times control. 

The separation of the Goxernment has for years past been the cherished 
purpose of the Southern leaders. Batfled in 1832 by the stern, pntiiotie 
heroism of Andrew Jackson, they sullenly acquiesced, only to mature 



15 

their diabolical schemes, aud await the recurrence of a more favorable op- 
portunity to execute them. Then the pretext was the tariff, and Jackson, 
after foiling their schemes of nullification and disunion, with prophetic 
perspicacity, warned the country against the renewal of their etForts to 
dismember the Government. 

In a letter dated May 1, 1833, to the Rev. A. J. Crawford, after demon- 
strating the heartless insincerity of the Southern nuUifiers, he said : 

"Therefore the tariff -was only a pretext, and disunion and a Southern Confed- 
eracy the real object The next pretext will be the negro or slavery queslion." 

Time has fully verified the prediction, and we have not only '* the negro 
or slavery question " as the pretext, but the real cause of the rebellion, 
and both must go down together. It is vain to attempt to reconstruct the 
Union with the distracting element of slavery in it. Experience has de- 
monstrated its incompatibility with fiee and republican governments, and 
it would be unwise and unjust longer to continue it, as one of the institu- 
tions of the country. While it remained subordinate to the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, I yielded to it my support, but when it be- 
came rebel lou9, and attempted to rise above the Government and control 
its action, I threw my humble influence against it. 

The authority of the Government is supreme, and will admit of no 
rivalry. No institution can rise above it, whether it be slavery or any 
other organized power. In our happy form of .government all must bo 
subordinate to the will of the people, when reflected through the Consti- 
tution and laws made pursuant thereto — State or Federal. This great 
principle lies at the foundation of every government, and cannot be disre- 
garded without the destruction of the Government itself. In the support 
and practice of correct principles we can never reach wrong results ; and 
by rigorously adhering to this great fundamental truth, the end will be the 
preservation of the Union, and the overthrow of an institution which ha* 
made war upon, and attempted the destruction of the Government itself. 

The mode by which this great change — the emancipation of the slave — 
can be eff"ected, is properly found in the power to amend the Constitution 
of the United States. This plan is eft'ectual, and of no doubted authority ; 
and while it does not contravene the timely exercise of the war power of 
the President in his emancipation proclamation, it comes stamped with 
the authority of the people themselves, acting in accordance with the 
■written rule of the supreme law of the land, and must therefore . give 
more general satisfaction and quietude to the public mind. 

By recurring to the principles contained in the resolutions so unani- 
mously adopted by the Convention, I find that they substantially accord 
with my public acts and opinions heretofore made known aod expressed, 
and are therefore most cordially endorsed and approved, and the nomina- 
tion, having been conferred without any solicitation on my part, is with 
the greater pleasure accepted. 

In acceptiug this nomination, I might here close, but I cannot forego 
the opportuniiy of saying to my old fiieuds of the Democratic party proper, 
with whom I have so long and pleasantly been associated, that the hour 
has now come when that great party can justly vindicate its devotion to 
true Democratic policy and measures of expediency. * The war is a war of 
great principles. It involves the supremacy and life of the Government 
itself, if the rebellion triumphs, free government — North and South — 
fails. If, on the other hand, the Goverument is successful — as I do not 
doubt — its destiny is fixed, its basis permanent and enduring, and its career 



16 

of honor and glory just begun. In a great contest like this for the exist- 
ence of free government, the path of duty is patriotism and principle. 
Minor coDsideralious and quest-ions of administrative policy should give 
way to the higher duty of first preserving the Government ; and then 
there will be tii"Ae enough to wrangle over the men and measures pertain- 
ing to its adminittratioii. 

This is not the hour for strife and division among ourselves. Such difFer- 
eaces of opinion ouly encourage the en't:my, prolong the war, and waste 
the couutry. Unity of action and CDUceutration of power should be our 
watchword and rallying cry. This accomplished, the time will rapidly 
a|;>proach when their armies in the field, the great power of the rebellion, 
will be broken and crushed by our gallant officers and brave soldiers, and 
ere long they will return to their homes and firesides to resume again the 
vocations of peace, with the proud consciousness that they have aided in 
the noble woik of re-establiihing upon. a surer and more permanent basis 
the great temple of American' freedom. 

I am, gentlemen, with sentiments of high regard, yours, truly, 

ANr)REW JOHNSON. 



SPEECHES AND DOCUMENTS FOR DISTRIBUTION BY THE 
UNION CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. 

Abraham Lincoln — "Slavery and iM issues indicated by Lis Speeches, Letters, 
Meeeflges, and Proclamations 

Hon. Jsaac N. Arnold — "Reconstruction ;«Liherty the corner-stone and Lincoln 
the architect." 16 pp. ; ^2 per 100. 

Hon. M. Russel Thayer — '• Reconstruction of Rebel States." 16 pp. ; $2 per 100. 

Hon. James F. Wilson — ' A Free Consfcikution." 10 pp. ; §2 per 100. 

Hon. Godlove S. Oi-th — " The Expulsion of Long." S pp. ; 81 per 100. 

Hon. H. Winter Davis—" The Expulsion of Long." 8 pp. ; §1 per 100. 

Hon. Henry C. Deming — "State Renovation." 8 pp. -,$1 per 100. 

Hon. James A. Garfield — " Confiscation of Rebel Property'." 8 pp. ; |l per 100. 

Hon. William D. Kelly — " Freedmen's Affairs." 8 pp. ; $\ per 100. 

Hon. Green Clay Smith — " Confiscation of Rebel Property." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hon. D, W. Gooch — "Secession and Reconstruction." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hon. R. C. Sehenck — " No Compromise with Treason." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hon. Lyman Trumbull— "A Free Constitution." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hon. Charles Sumner — "Universal Emancipation, without Compensation." 16 
pp.; $2 per 100. 

Hoa. James Harlan — " Title to Property in Slaves." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hoa. Daniel Clark — "Amendment to Constitution." 8 pp. ; §1 per 100. 

Hon. John C. Ten Eyek — ' Reeonstpiction in the States." 8 pp. ; $1 per 100. 

Hon. Keverdy Johnson — "Amei^dmfht to Constitution." 16 pp. ; $2 per 100. 

Hon. J. D. Defrecs — "Thoughts for Konest Democrats." 

Biographical Sketch of Andrev? Johnson, candidate for the Vice Presidency. 16 
pp. ; *i2 per 100. • '' 

Hon. J. D. Defrees — "The War commenced by the Rebels." * 16 pp. ; $2 per 100. 

iN'unierous Speeches and Documents not included in the •foregoing will be pub- 
lished for distribution, and persons willing to trust the discretion of the Committee, 
call remit their orders with the money, and have them filled with the utmost 
promptitude, and with the best judgment as to price and adaptation to. the locality 
where the speeches are to be sent. 



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